- Residents of Bomet province expressed their dissatisfaction with Governor Hillary Barchok as they started cursing him
- The residents were calm as President William Ruto addressed them but the situation took a drastic turn when Ruto introduced Barchok, giving him the opportunity to speak.
- Barchok struggled to talk to locals as their bickering grew louder, rendering him inaudible
Faith Chandianya, journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has over three years of experience in reporting politics and current affairs in Kenya
Bomet: Governor Hillary Barchok faced hostility from residents of his province who began harassing him on Sunday, December 29.
Source: Twitter
This put President William Ruto in an awkward position as he saw the governor being booed Bomet province Residents.
How did the residents of Bomet react to Barchok?
The residents remained calm as the head of state addressed them, but the situation took a dramatic turn when it was Barchok’s turn to speak.
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“No! No! Hakuna! Hakuna!” Angry residents were heard shouting in disapproval.
A video viewed by TUKO.co.ke showed the governor struggling to talk to the head of state as residents repeatedly booed him.
They stood up and shook hands to express their disappointment with the district head, to the point of refusing to listen to what he had to say.
Barchok’s attempts to calm the now angry crowd proved futile as they continued to jeer at him.
‘Your Excellency, you are welcome in Bomet. We have our internal quarrels and we will resolve them,” Barchok was heard reassuring the president.
Did Ruto intervene when Barchok was booed?
This is not the first time Barchok has been met with hostility by Bomet residents. In a separate incident Ruto had to intervene to protect Barchok from humiliation by the local population.
The President was in the province on Saturday, March 16, for a work tour, interacting with residents at several stops along his motorcade route.
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Barchok joined other local leaders in hosting the head of state.
At one of the stops, the president invited the governor to address the crowd, but they turned against him.
Barchok had started speaks highly of the actions of his district council when the hecklers took on him.
Seeing the governor overwhelmed by the determined naysayers, Ruto took over the meeting to reprimand them.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke